Coronal ejecta are important in studying the sun's magnetic field; however, to do so, the 3D trajectory of ejecta must be known. Although the combination of viewing angles of several spacecraft can accomplish this, the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) can do this on its own. Due to its highly elliptical orbit, the PSP moves fast enough at the perihelion of its orbit to track observed features. The PSP observes coronal ejecta via its white light imager, WISPR, which currently looks to the right of the sun from around 20 solar radii. Previous work has been done with the PSP to track and fit trajectories of coronal mass ejections under the assumption of radial motion at constant velocity, and this summer, we will be modifying the existing fitting procedure to fit the trajectory of streamers, which can then be used to put streamers in the context of the sun's global magnetic field.
The IMpulsive Phase Rapid Energetic Solar Spectrometer (IMPRESS) experiment is a cube-sat based project that implements silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detectors to characterize hard x-ray emissions from solar flares. My work here in Bozeman supports the effort to optimize detector performance in rate capabilities and timing precision for measuring such energetic astrophysical processes. The details of how I do that can be found on my personal page.
My project is to find the solar irradiance using soft x-rays from the Hinode XRT. I used the Hinode/XRT Synoptic Composite Image Archive ( SCIA ), which is the archive of soft X-ray full-Sun images obtained with the X-Ray Telescope aboard the Hinode satellite. Using the thin-Be and Al-mesh filters, I will calculate the irradiance and then compare it to a similar project done previously.
This summer, I'm going to be working with SOHO/SUMER and UARS/SOLSTICE data. SUMER (Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation) us a UV telescope and spectrometer onboard the ESA/NASA spacecraft SOHO (SOlar Heliospheric Observatory). During its period of operation 1996-2014, SUMER took a few full disk solar spectra in different wavelength bands. I'll learn how to look at SUMER spectral data including C IV and Ne VIII lines and synthesize a full disk image/datacube out of spectral data of a slit scanning across the solar disk. In the end, I will produce a disk averaged spectra and use the data from UARS/SOLSTICE (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite/Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment) to cross-calibrate SUMER data.
I study the energy evolution of the solar flares, including its heating and cooling processes using observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft. I also estimate the mechanical energies of the coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are often associated with the flare. By modeling and analyzing these solar events, I evaluate the energy partition between the flare and the CME
Solar flares occur when a large amount of energy is converted into X-rays, heat, and supersonic fluid motion. Prior to the flare this energy is stored as magnetic field filling the atmosphere above sunspots and related features called active regions. The energy is released suddenly when an electric field changes the connectivity of several coronal magnetic field lines, which then retract rapidly. The fluid in these field line moves faster than the speed of sound and therefore creates shocks, which are believed to heat the plasma to tens of millions of Kelvins. This summer, I will be running a simulation built by Professor Longcope to explore parameters that impact the properties of a flare (temperatures, densities, pressures, retraction velocity, etc.). Furthermore, I will be running a version of the simulation that includes drag -- something that hasn't been used to date.
Montana Space Grant Consortium's (MSGC) Space Public Outreach Team (SPOT) provides free presentations about current NASA missions and research to Montana schools, youth programs, and community groups. SPOT takes advantage of the excitement of space and the natural way college students serve as role models for children. While the SPOT presentation changes every year, the last time the topic of the Sun was covered was around a decade ago. Since then, there have been numerous advancements in both the fields of solar physics and education. This summer, I will be focusing on creating an updated version of the Sun SPOT presentation by including new instruments such as the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, Solar Orbiter, and Parker Solar Probe. I will also work on making the show more engaging by incorporating more kinesthetic learning, family activities, and interviews with role model scientists.
Hi, my name's Emily Paton, and I'm a rising sophomore completing my undergraduate degree at Davidson College, NC! This summer I am working with Joe Shaw in Montana State's ORSL lab, studying direct moonlight polarimetry and aiming to uncover a relationship between the lunar polarization and lunar phase. Eventually, we aim to apply this insight to nighttime cloud thermodynamic phase imaging.
Hello, my name is Patrick Tracy. I am from Tacoma, Washington and I currently go to school at Centeral Washington University where I am working to complete my degree (BS) in physics. My project entails finding the fast acceleration onset-time for seven Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) events and comparing that onset-time to its correlating solar flare onset-time to further investigate the relationship between the two events. This project also should further the study of the triggering mechanisms involved in creating a CME.